Spending

Every evening Connie and I watch a few game shows, old ones. Sometime during the show the host asks the player “what will you do with the money if you win.” Sometimes there is group of players. 
Invariably the answer is something like…I always wanted to go bird watching in the Amazon, I’m buying a new motorcycle. Taking the entire family to Europe is high on the list as is buying a dream car. I’m  saving for a new tattoo.

I filled up the gas tank this morning and the total was over $81. I drive a 4-Cylinder Chevy Camaro. Chevy recommends premium fuel – I use the mid-grade.
Still, that’s a record for me. So, I started to reflect…
When I turned 16 in 1973 I applied for a job at a gas station/car wash. It was owned by my best friend’s dad. I hired in at $1.25 an hour. which bumped up to $1.40 after the first 40 hours.

I used to get frustrated with certain people I know. And when I say frustrated, I mean the kind where you want to grab them by the shoulders, shout directly into their ear, “Wake up — you’re sleepwalking through life!” — and then maybe shake them for good measure.
I’m happy to report I’ve since been cured of that particular affliction. These days I simply shrug, step back, and let them crack on with their endless parade of self-inflicted financial disasters.

I like a good cup of coffee – not that easy to find. I have two or three cups each morning (decaf) and use a Keurig. I know, not the best way to make coffee, but it’s quick, easy and expensive. I received the machine as a gift (it does cappuccino and lattes too- which I rarely use).
My true love is Starbucks, black no sugar, that too is expensive.
I spend considerable time in the supermarket market coffee aisle trying to figure out the best deal on K-Cups and looking for sales.

I recently had a hair-raising experience in a contraption called a Mini Moke. The best way I can describe it: imagine a compact car and a golf cart had a baby, slapped a rollbar on it, and threw a canvas roof over the whole thing. My backside was a mere 12 inches from the ground, and despite topping out at 20 mph, it felt like we were about to break the sound barrier. This thing has the aerodynamics of a brick.

I do the grocery shopping. I just returned from such an adventure. It’s one way I get exercise as a walk up and down the aisles, intentionally – .75 miles today.
Shopping is not easy. First, you need to locate things, which, eventually after shopping in the same store, you figure out. It would help though if the aisle signs actually reflected what was on those shelves. 
Then there are prices, different prices. There is the regular price,

My Youtube feed lately seems to be filled up with a lot of “10 things that are no longer worth your money” videos. Sometimes the number varies ….. 5, 12, whatever. But the message is always similar – avoid expenses that will hurt your financial health over time. And generally the message is pretty sound – avoid car loan repayments, multiple subscriptions, take away food deliveries.
But a recent video from Christina Mychas left me feeling sort of sad.

My wife Suzie is in Spain visiting her dad and I’ve taken the opportunity for a solo trip to my vacation home. On the fourth day Suzie rang for a catch-up and told me all about the visit. After we rang off I thought back over the last few days and realised I hadn’t interacted with anyone in a meaningful way since leaving home.
It wasn’t a conscious decision. I’d visited the local grocery store and loaded up on supplies but used the self service tills,

I thought I would seek solace in the Humble Dollar community for my latest self inflicted wound: an own goal of reasonably epic proportions.
It started innocently enough. I noticed a split developing on our twenty year old, 600 gallon plastic oil storage tank. Visions of catastrophic failure danced in my head. I pictured the tank groaning under a full load of fresh kerosene and then… well, you can imagine.
After gathering quotes for supply and installation of a replacement,

“We lament the grocery-store coupon left at home, and yet we’ll raise our bid for a house by $10,000 without a second thought.”
This was one of Jonathan’s quips that appeared at the top of the blog a few months back. I immediately was reminded of a day spent with my pal Kenny and his wife in Las Vegas, sometime in the early 1990s. Ken and I were seated at a $5 blackjack table when his wife approached,

In his book “Die with Zero”, Bill Perkins lays out a framework for how to spend money to maximise your life. Ramit Sethi has his “money dials” to explain how to both enjoy money whilst still building a strong financial base.
But I reckon that the two wisest women in my life, specifically my wife and Mum, have it all worked out. And they didn’t have to write a book or start a podcast.
Mum was raised in a comfortable family home.

I’ve a bit of an issue with chocolate. More precisely, I’m a chocoholic. Love the damned stuff with a passion that is frankly disproportionate for a man of my age and alleged maturity.
That doesn’t sit especially well with my lifestyle. I’m extremely sporty, in decent shape for a guy pushing towards the big 60, and broadly disciplined about what I put into my body. So chocolate and I have an arrangement: I want it constantly,

A recent forum post on keeping gold bars as financial crisis insurance got me thinking about alternative stores of value. I’ll admit there’s an element of tongue-in-cheek to what follows — but I also think it might prove rather more useful than stuffing a gold bar in each pocket and heading out to barter for your Sunday lunch. It would certainly be kinder to the structural integrity of said pockets.
I have to point out my perspective on this comes from an unusual place.

TL:DR – I explain my approach to financial disaster protection including holding physical cash and gold
I’ve had a long career in Software development, and as a result I understand how fragile software systems can be.  As more of our financial infrastructure comes to rely on software as its underpinnings, the more likely it is that we will experience an outage that will last some period of time.
This naturally brings up the question:  how do I protect myself if such an outage occurs? 

For all my mentions of my prior life as a beer truck driver, and the monthly meetings of the ElderBeerMen (retired beer truck drivers), you might think I have a drinking problem. In reality I average about eight drinks per month. And usually, that involves having two at one sitting, so most days, I’m a teetotaler, but I do enjoy my transgressions. Many who imbibe can’t control the habit; the alcohol owns them. Many pastimes are the same way.